The free iPhone game Trawler Report – N.O.V.A. and the Transformers go to war while we get upset over a hairdryer
15th March 2010
You know your iPhone obsession might be getting the better of you when you have to spend at least half an hour a week obsessing over which games you're going to clear off your home screen, having yet again run out of space. It's something we at Pocket Gamer are all too familiar with, and we're sure some of you are similarly afflicted.
Perhaps Apple will come up with a solution in the iPhone 4G - infinite home screens. Just imagine how many games you could have installed if those pages just kept on scrolling along. App sizes may be ramping up as more developers opt for using pretty graphics and video content, but it's often the size of your home screen that restricts rather than a lack of gigabytes.
Then again, perhaps it's just one more step towards "app addicts anonymous", a group we're sure to spend a few years in once it shows up. I can imagine it now - "Hi, I'm Paul, and I'm addicted to apps…". Until then, on with the freebies!
The best free iPhone games on the App StoreRaging Thunder 2 Lite
By Polarbit
Type Demo
Loads of great racers were released on iPhone last year - including the excellent Real Racing and Need for Speed: Shift. Raging Thunder 2 is more of an arcade kart racer than a serious sim, but it is a barrel-load of fun.
The lite version lets you try a full race, against AI opponents or real-life folks over wi-fi or 3G. We had a stroll around the lobby but it wasn't busy enough to sustain a good race - perhaps the pool of racers will have grown by the time you read this.
The included track is Ice Caves, which is a surprisingly sunny track that wouldn't look out of place in Mario Kart.
By Com2Us
Type Demo We've often remarked that the iPhone doesn't have masses of role-playing games, but that score has recently been settled with the arrival of Final Fantasy I and Final Fantasy II, a pair of role-playing heavyweights. Inotia 2 is less well-known, but still worth a look.
Inotia 2 starts you off in a village looking for mercenaries to partake in some low down and dirty quests - like any RPG worth its salt it lets you pick your own fights.
The full version features a massive 200 quests, so it's worth having a free play before considering the time and money investment the paid version requires.
Transformers G1: Awakening
By Glu
Type Demo Fed up of rubbish movie tie-ins of equally rubbish movies? Transformers G1 is based on the TV series of Transformers rather than the films, and crucially isn't rubbish. It's a turn-based battler that features 23 characters from the series, although not all of them show up in this demo version.
It does give you a good idea of how the game works, though. You view the battlefield from above, moving each of your bots closer to the enemy, turn by turn. When you attack, the view switches to a 3D cel shaded-style perspective, showing off the Transformers close up. Eye candy-tastic.
Transformers G1: Awakening was originally released on mobile back in 2008, but if you want a game with enough geek cred to satisfy hardcore Transformers fans, this is the one to go for.
Pick of the week N.O.V.A.
By Gameloft
Type Demo Think that first-person shooters can't be done properly on iPhone? Check out Gameloft's N.O.V.A. because it's a shooter that feels right at home on the touchscreen.
Don't tell Microsoft, but it's quite a lot like Halo. You're part of a crack team of soldiers faced with battling an alien menace that's just appeared from outer space and threatens the human race. Dramatic stuff.
N.O.V.A. features a neat slice of the full game, and lets you sample its fab controls and visuals.
Crap Apps box of shame award Hairdryer
By Aulius
Type Full Will ridiculously pointless apps never stop showing up? Unless Apple bans them, we don't think they will. Hairdryer is the latest crap app to slobber all over iTunes's virtual shelves.
It hardly needs an explanation - it makes a hairdryer noise and, well, that's about it. The only good thing we can think to mention is that it takes up less than a megabyte.
Talk about clutching at straws.
